Deathly Contagious (18 page)

“What did he say?” I asked Hayden when he came upstairs.

“The mission went smoothly. They ran into one herd but were able to avoid it. And Ivan swore he killed over a dozen S2’s with a bow.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” I said with a laugh. “How’s your shoulder?”

“Sore,” he admitted. Padraic had given Hayden medical clearance to start lightly working out again, though the first day Hayden didn’t take it too light. “I just want to be back to normal.”

“It will be, just give it time. You’re healing pretty fast,” I reminded him.

“Not as fast as you would,” he said with a grin.

“That might be true. Hopefully we never find out.”

“Hopefully,” he echoed. “Want to go downstairs with me?”

“Sure.”

We ran into Steven, the A2 that Fuller thought was ready to advance to A1. I hadn’t spoken to him much, but I knew he used to be a firefighter, took his A2 duties very seriously, and was polite every time we spoke. I didn’t want him to advance, and my reasoning was more than not wanting to change what was currently—more or less—working for us.

Steven had a wife and kids. His oldest daughter, Maryanne, was Lisa’s age. His identical twin boys had their fourth birthday at the compound. It was too great of a risk for him to die; he had a family that emotionally depended on him being there.

But Fuller didn’t care.

I exchanged a few words and went on to the game room to find Raeya while Hayden and Steven talked tactics. She was sitting with Padraic, Sonja, Jason and Olivia, working on another puzzle. I pulled up a chair and greeted everyone.

By the time Hayden joined us, we were deep in a reminiscent conversation about how we all met, explaining it all to Olivia. Hayden, who had heard the whole story before, stood patiently behind me with his hand on my shoulder while we spoke. When our epic tale reached its end, he pulled up a chair and squeezed in next to me.

 “D-do you know a lot about zombies?” Olivia asked shyly.

“What do you want to know?” I replied.

“Like how-how are they possible?”

Hayden scooted in even closer next to me. “A virus,” he started.

“I know that,” she said with a half smile. “What does it do and how did it start?”

“We don’t know how it started, but I do know that it attacks the frontal lobes,” Padraic said, taking the lead on this discussion. “That is the part of the brain that controls human emotions and feelings. At that stage of the virus, damage to the brain has already occurred; there is no going back. Then, parts of the brain and the central nervous system start shutting down. Basic body functions slow down significantly; metabolism, digestion, breathing, and their heart rate. Without a good oxygen supply, parts of the body start dying.”

“That’s when they become zombies?” she said, just as quiet as before.

“Yes. The virus has spread to more of the brain, not necessarily killing it, but greatly altering its function. Blood only goes to the most vital organs, which is why their skin starts to die and rot.”

“So, are they dead?”

“Medically, yes. Their hearts still beat. With no heartbeat to pump blood—no matter how vicious it is—the cells would be depleted of oxygen and completely die. They wouldn’t be able to move, since their bodies would dry up and crack apart.”

“Too bad they don’t,” Jason added bitterly. We all nodded in agreement.

“Since when did you become such a zombie expert?” I asked Padraic.

“I did my first autopsy while you were gone,” he said, wrinkling his nose at the memory.

“Sounds fun.”

“There’s something you forgot,” Hayden told him. “Or, maybe you don’t know.”

“And that is…?” Padraic asked him, thinking he had thoroughly explained the zombie virus to Olivia.

“What they eat.”

Padraic’s face clouded with confusion for a millisecond. “Right. Stomachs. We can thank Orissa for enlightening us on that delightful bit of information.” He winked at me.

“Uh, you’re welcome. I only saw two though, I don’t think that’s enough to base it off of, is it?” I stated.

“No, but it makes sense,” Hayden explained. “Think of it this way: when a wolf kills a rabbit in the wild, what does he eat? The whole thing, basically, right? And what do rabbits eat? Grass and plants. So when the wolf eats the rabbit, he’s getting protein but also grains and carbs from the rabbit.”

“Oh, that does make sense!” Raeya said, suddenly interested. It still didn’t click right away with me. Thankfully, it didn’t with Sonja either and she asked why.

“Humans need a balanced diet,” Hayden went on. “We can’t just eat meat. Zombies are still humans, in some messed up form.”

“So crazies eat the stomachs of humans to meet nutritional needs,” I finished.

“Exactly,” Padraic told me with a nod.

“Are you sure? I mean, that seems very complex,” I countered.

“We can’t be sure about anything,” Padraic admitted. “But it’s a theory, and it does make sense.”

“Oh, well, then, glad I helped.” I unbraided my hair—which had been in a French braid—and raked my fingers through it. We worked on the puzzle until dinner; after that I hung out with Raeya while Hayden played video games with Noah, Jose, and Mac. As far as I knew, he was pretending as if Alex didn’t exist. I changed into pajamas and crawled into bed, surprised at how tired I was for it only being ten o’clock.

I was sleeping when Hayden came in. He got into bed next to me, suggestively running his hand up and down my body until I woke up. I could see his devilish smile in the dark. I held onto his hand and rolled over, bringing him closer to me. He kissed the back of my neck but I didn’t respond.

“Riss?” he asked, taken aback. I always pounced on him the moment we had a chance. “Everything ok?”

“Yea,” I mumbled. “I’m just really tired.”

“Oh, ok.” He wrapped his arm around me and I drifted back to sleep. It was so hard to drag my ass out of bed for training the next morning. As soon as I was up and moving, I felt better. I crashed after training and slept until lunch.

“Are you feeling alright, Riss?” Hayden asked.

“Yea, I’m just tired,” I assured him. “I guess all those late night booty calls took their toll on me,” I joked. He smiled and kissed me, insisting I take it easy until dinner, which is exactly what I did.

“Penwell,” Ivan called as we exited our room on the way to dinner that day.

“Yea?”

“I got your friend, Raeya, something.”

“You did?”

“Yea, I remembered what you said about her loving those dolls. I found one.”

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. “Wow, she’s gonna be so happy. You should give it to her. Right now.”

“Good idea.” He disappeared into his room and came back with a box. Hayden had to turn away to hide his laughter. With the box tucked proudly under his arm, Ivan followed us into the cafeteria. We got our trays and sat in the back with the other A1’s. Hayden waved Steven over, who excitedly said something to his wife and joined us. I nibbled on my food while waiting for Raeya. Impatiently, I watched her get her tray and make her way over. She got stopped by another overseer, and I was a little afraid she might sit at their table.

As if she could read my mind, Ray looked up and smiled at me. There was a time when Ray and I used to prank each other on a regular basis. I missed those days.

“Hi, Raeya,” Ivan said showing off his brilliant smile. “How are you doing this evening?”

“Oh, I’m good, thanks. And yourself?”

“Glad to be back.” He retrieved the box. “I saw this and it reminded me of you.” He slid it to her.

“Oh, presents!” Raeya exclaimed excitedly. “You really shouldn’t have, Ivan.” Her cheeks flushed just a bit as she touched the box. Carefully, she took the lid off. Her eyes bulged and a little squeak of surprise escaped her lips. She glared at me before turning on her charm.  

“Thank you,” she said, her voice strangled.

“Do you like it?” Ivan asked her.

“Oh yes,” she said smoothly. Hayden looked away and I coughed to cover up my laughter. “In fact, I like it so much I’m going to put it in my room. Riss, come with me.”

“I think you can handle it,” I said casually.

“Rissy!” she said in a high pitched voice, earning strange looks from our tablemates.

“Alright,” I said, ducking to hide my smile.

“What the hell!?” she cried, shoving the box in my hands as soon as we were out of the cafeteria. I doubled over in laughter.

“Sorry, Ray!” I said once I got my laughter under control. “The opportunity just presented itself. I couldn’t help it.”

She crossed her arms. “You are evil,” she tried to sneer but failed and was overcome with giggles. “I’ll get you back, just you wait,” she warned. “And what am I going to tell Ivan? He thinks I like it!”

“Tell him the truth,” I suggested.

“No, that would hurt his feelings. I’ll pretend like I like it.”

“Yea, so he can bring you another.”

“Ugh. Do not let him!” she laughed again.

“Want me to put it upstairs? I don’t want you to have nightmares over it.”

“Yea, I’d—wait, no. I don’t want to be surprised by it. I’ll keep it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You sure?”

“Yes. Come with me.”

We hurried down the hall and into her room where she hid the doll in her dresser and went back in to finish dinner. We all gathered in the theater room to hang out and talk until it was time to go to bed. I showered, changed into pajamas and snuggled close to Hayden, listening to his steady heartbeat until I drifted to sleep.

I fell into a comfortable routine and the next week passed quickly. Alex, Mac, Jose, Noah, Gabby and Jessica left on a search mission. They were given ten days to look for survivors. Once—and if—they got back, then Brock, Ivan, Hayden and I were to go out on a very simple mission: locate the hardware store that we knew to be nearby.

The compound was bursting at the seams with residents and we hoped to keep adding to our numbers. Raeya was hard at work drawing up blue prints, trying to design the simplest yet most functional cabins. It was all very old fashioned, she told me, the way it would be set up. Running water and electricity weren’t a guarantee unless we were able to find the supplies we needed. Out of all the residents here, we had quite a few who used to work in construction. Hence our next mission. While the cabins would be extremely basic, we hoped to have a sink, shower and toilet in every one.

When we were kids, Raeya and I used to empty out the small shed behind my grandparents’ house and play ‘old fashioned days’. We would wear silly dresses, cook food over camp fires, and refuse to use anything modern for the entire day. It was fun then. The thought was scary now.

Going without heat, water, and a proper way to dispose of human waste wasn’t only a huge pain in the ass, but it was a health issue, one that wasn’t worth risking.  Padraic stressed he was running low on antibiotics and didn’t want to take any chances compromising anyone’s health.

Two days into Alex and the others’ mission, Raeya presented a very detailed list to us. We went over it and were given descriptions of what to look for. Brock worked for his uncle’s construction company before joining the Marines and was familiar with a lot of the supplies we needed. He promised he’d be able to identify what we’d need.

I left the meeting feeling excited about another mission and building the cabins. Since the cabins wouldn’t offer much—if any—protection against an attack, Fuller wanted the A1’s and A2’s to ‘test them out’, moving the A3’s upstairs, allowing the C’s and B’s more room to space out.

“It’s going to look like a little village,” Raeya told us excitedly during dinner that night.

“I can’t wait to see it!” Sonja gushed. “It looks very cute in my head!”

“Oh, it will be,” Raeya agreed. “I can show you my new blueprints!” she said excitedly.

“New blueprints?” Sonja questioned. “Are they different than the ones you just showed me?”

“Yes,” Raeya explained. “I had a dream about a better way to organize things.”

“You dream about organizing stuff?” Jason chuckled.

I nodded. “Those are her favorite kinds of dreams,” I said endearingly. “That’s why we love you Ray: You are one of a kind.” We all laughed and continued to talk about the cabins.

Back in my normal routine, the days passed rather quickly. After working out, Hayden and I would venture downstairs to hang out with our friends, lazily watch a movie or play cards, and retire to bed early just so we could spend some quiet time together.

When the other A1’s returned from their mission with five civilians, Hayden and I started getting antsy for our turn. Raeya frowned whenever the conversation turned to it and, more than once, she begged me not to go.

“I’m just so scared to lose you,” she confessed one night while I sat with her in her room.

“I’ll come back, I promise. And this is an easy mission. We won’t be gone long.”

She sighed. “I know. Still, you can’t blame me.”

“I don’t, and I understand completely. But don’t worry!”

She rested her head on my shoulder. “I wish you were pregnant.”

“That’s a horrible thing to wish for me! What the hell would make you want
that
?”

“Then you wouldn’t leave. You’d stay here where it’s safe.” She smiled innocently. “And Hayden probably would too, to make sure you’re taken care of and healthy and whatever.”

“Ray, no. Not now.”

“But someday?” she asked hopefully.

“I suppose, but that’s a someday in the far, far future.”

“Life is short. I think you should consider it.”

“No. And you’re not going to change my mind. Even if you did, you’d have to convince Hayden, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

“Fine. I guess you’re right. I’ve always wanted to be an aunt, Riss. And since you’re the closest I have to a sister…would you do it for me?”

“No.” I couldn’t help but laugh at her attempt to get me to not go on the mission. I hugged Raeya and, once again, promised I’d be back before she knew it.

The day before we left, my little group of friends gathered around a table in the game room playing Rummy. I leaned back in my chair, my arm brushing against Hayden’s.